Cuomo Says He’s Raised $500K For Senate Dems

Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a statement on Thursday said he has raised $500,000 for Democratic state Senate candidates as part of a “coordinated” effort to help the party win control of the chamber.

The money does not appear to be going directly toward the Senate Democrats’ campaign finance arm, which report this week $900,000 in cash on hand. Senate Republicans have more than $2 million, plus additional transfers have swelled its cash on hand total to about $3 million.

The fundraising discrepancy between Republicans and Democrats in the state Senate was pointedly noted several times in the release by the state Democratic Committee on Thursday, even though Democrats in the Senate have pointed to record fundraising totals this year.

A source close to the Senate Democrats pointed out the state committee so far has spent virtually nothing on Democratic candidates running in key races.

Cuomo headlined this week fundraisers for a trio of Democratic candidates — Jim Gaughran and Lou D’Amaro on Long Island and Andrew Gounardes in Brooklyn.

At the same time, Cuomo appeared at fundraisers for Sens. Todd Kaminsky and John Brooks.

The $500,000 was raised at a fundraising on Wednesday night, attended by Brooks, D’Amaro and Gounardes as well as Senate candidates Peter Harckha, Anna Kaplan, Monica Martinez and Karen Smythe.

“As President Trump and the federal government threaten New Yorkers rights and values, we need a Democratic Senate Majority to carry forward the progress we have achieved,” Cuomo said in a statement. “The DSCC has only $900,000 as we head into the final month of the election to the SRCC’s $3 million. We need all hands on deck to overcome this deficit and flip the Senate blue in November. This is a call to action for all members of our Party to step in and help get our candidates over finish line.”